Thirty years ago Forbes Hill of Brooklyn learned he had prostate cancer. At age 50, with a young wife and a fear of the common side effects of treatment - incontinence and impotence - he chose what oncologists call ‘watchful waiting.’ For 12 years, Mr. Hill was fine. Then in 1990 his PSA count, a measure of cancer activity, began to rise, and he had radiation therapy. That dropped the count to near zero. In 2000, with the count up again, he chose hormone therapy, which worked for a while. Three years ago, with his PSA level going through the roof, he learned that the cancer had spread to his bones and liver. It was time for chemotherapy, which Mr. Hill said he knew could not cure him but might slow the cancer’s progress and prolong his life. His oncologist was candid but not very specific. His doctor told him that with advanced metastatic hormone-resistant cancer like his, 90 percent of patients die within five years no matter what the doctors do, and about 10 percent survive six or more years. ‘I took that kind of hard,’ said Mr. Hill, an associate professor of media studies at […]